In Erie County Court, more reluctant witnesses

This is an undated file photo of Dionn Amison who was accused of shooting 23-year-old Tasha Pacley multiple times outside a night club in the 100 block of West 19th Street at about 2:25 AM on May 13, 2012. CONTRIBUTED/ERIE TIMES-NEWS

Reluctant and uncooperative witnesses played major roles in Erie County Court last week, when one defendant was acquitted of attempted homicide and a jury in another case was dismissed after it deadlocked on murder charges.

Both cases included one-time star witnesses who backed away from what they initially told the police. Such backtracking has become more common locally, authorities said, particularly in major cases.

It "turns the justice system on its head," Erie County District Attorney Jack Daneri said.

He and others said they are working to build trust on the street as they rely even more on videotaped statements to try to secure convictions in difficult cases.

"There is an attitude out there that anyone who cooperates with the authorities is a snitch," First Assistant District Attorney Robert Sambroak Jr. said. "I don't know how that attitude got out there, and how it got so prevalent."